Salama, Y.Hongler, M. O.2013-01-072013-01-072013-01-07199510.1109/ETFA.1995.4967172-s2.0-0029515666https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/87625A simple production line composed of two identical failure prone machines separated by a buffer is studied. In one case, a continuous flux of parts is produced by both machines while in the other case, it is assumed that each machine produces parts one by one with a processing time which is exponentially distributed. By analytically comparing the results obtained in both situations, the operation regime for which the hydrodynamical model is a consistent analytical tool to model discrete flows is characterized. The comparison also indicate that continuous versus production flows coincide for high production rates.CalculationsEstimationIndustrial applicationsNumerical analysisOperations researchProbabilityRandom processesBuffers boundariesDiscrete production flowExact transient analysisProduction dipoleSojourn timeWiener processMathematical modelstext::conference output::conference proceedings::conference paper